


return unto the ground

by duckmoles



Series: the journey home [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Sadness, the file is called "i'm still sad about this"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 10:59:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14495466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duckmoles/pseuds/duckmoles
Summary: Two days after, they finally pick up a signal from Tony.(Steve and Tony, in the aftermath.)





	return unto the ground

Two days after, they finally pick up a signal from Tony.

Wakandan airspace directs Tony to Wakanda, and a few hours later a spaceship enters Earth’s atmosphere, just above Birnin Zana.

Steve goes to greet them, and despite his resistance, Natasha, Bruce, and the strange raccoon creature follow him. The air is crisp and smells of pollen. In the morning air, sun hazy as it stretches over the horizon, the spaceship feels like a dream as it descends from the clouds, soot-covered orange and blue body haloed in beams of light.

When Rocket sees the spaceship, he stops and tells the rest of them to continue without him. He already knows that his friends are all dead; Tony had told him through the crackling static, voice harsh and worn, but now, so close to the truth, Rocket can’t bear it.

Steve understands. He’s not sure he would’ve accepted Bucky’s death if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.

(Bucky falling to the ground, fading away before he hits the soft grass and warm soil, leaving only his gun to show that he was ever there at all.)

They arrive at the edge of the force field (still holding strong) at the same time the spaceship lands at the broken tree line, acacias still broken and burnt by the battle.

A pause, and a blue alien steps out. Behind her is – is Tony.

He’s not in his armor, rather in his jacket, the reactor – or what looks to be the reactor – glowing in the center of his chest. His hands are stuffed into his pockets as he steps from the ship onto the Wakandan soil. He looks exhausted, bags under his eyes as dark as the night sky, and Steve wants to – he wants to –

Steve still wears his armor, cracked and broken and still bearing the shadows of his former self – bright red and blue against a clear, unflinching white. It’s the armor that Tony had made for him; it was early 2016, maybe two months before the Accords, a week before Pepper had left and Tony started falling apart, and Tony showed up at Steve’s room, grinning as he held out a box.

“You could’ve called ahead,” Steve said, wiping off the sweat beading up on his forehead. He pulled on a shirt and grabbed his water bottle to take a swig.

Tony smiled. “Where would be the fun in that?” he asked. “Open, open, you’ll love it.”

Tony had made him try on the suit right then and there and had nodded seriously while Steve gave his review.

“It’s waterproof,” Tony said after Steve finished. “There’s also a pocket for your cell phone, if you need it. 20 bucks hidden in one of the pockets – I’ll add 10 if you can find it by the end of the month – and I even weaved in some of my patented – well, not yet – synthetic super-metal thing. I don’t want to call it _vibranium_ , but. . .” He shrugged.

“Wow, Tony, thanks.”

Tony shrugged again. “You know,” he had said, “just in case of emergencies.”

A week later, Steve was called out on assignment for Crossbones sightings.

Tony and the blue alien – Nebula, Tony had said, reach the barrier together. Tony’s talking to her quietly as they approach. Steve strains, but even with his enhanced hearing, he can’t make out a word.

“He looks well,” Natasha says.

Steve steels himself and says, “They’re here,” into his comm. “Section 17.” He watches as the field of energy parts.

Tony steps through first, not batting an eye at the technology. Steve supposes nothing much can faze Tony now, not after…everything. Nebula follows, more cautious, hand on the blade at her side as she steps through.

The barrier closes behind them.

Up close, without the barrier to distort his view, Tony looks even worse. He’s clearly favoring his right side, even though he tries to stay calm. Steve can see the minute cuts on the side of his face, his overgrown, greasy hair, the dark, haunted look in his eyes.

“Tony,” Steve says before he can help himself.

Tony’s face is grave, stiller than death, as he says, “Rogers.” He turns to Nebula. “Nebula, this is Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, and Bruce Banner.”

She frowns. “And these are ‘Earth’s mightiest heroes?’”

“Yes,” Tony says, slightly hoarse.

Bruce steps closer, and Tony’s gaze flickers to him.

“Sorry, Bruce,” Tony says. Bruce, whose arms had been lifted slightly, as if preparing for a hug, slumps back, and Tony’s attention returns to Steve.

“Who’s left?” Tony says. His voice cracks before the last syllable.

Steve finds that suddenly, he can’t breathe.

(Walking through the desolate streets of the Wakandan capital, hearing the low groans of unspeakable pain, the low mourning songs, seeing the terrified children who had lost their families.)

(Okoye, stumbling into the clearing, horror on her face as she declares that the king is gone.)

(Rocket, holding onto an old video game device, still blackened with dust.)

(Wanda, looking up into the cloudless sky.)

(Bucky’s last, confused, “Steve?”)

Natasha grimaces beside him. “Not a lot,” she says. “Us. Thor. Rhodes. Clint.”

She pauses, glances at his still-pocketed hands. “I’m sorry, Tony,” she says, answering the unasked question.

Tony’s eyes glisten, but he nods, as if he never expected anything less, as if he wasn’t just told that his fiancé had died. “I need for you to gather whoever’s left,” he says. “And I need to meet whoever’s in charge now.”

Shuri’s been named the temporary ruler, despite her age. Steve had seen her in the first fraught hours after the battle, her eyes red, though she wasn’t crying, cradling her blaster in her arms. She’s been holding up well, considering.

“Tony,” Steve says, “what’re you planning?”

Tony finally takes his hands out of his pockets, wiping them on his track pants. They’re oily and dirty, and there’s black particles that have wormed their way underneath his nails. “We haven’t lost yet,” he says.

Before any of them can react to this, Nebula steps forward. She’s tall, taller than Tony, and her robotic body and murderous look make Bruce step back a little. “He’s right,” she says. “Not yet, not while the Infinity Stones still exist. Not while Thanos still lives.” She looks around at them, at the bleak and decimated landscape around them, grass trampled and trees flattened. “You call yourself the Avengers. Do your duty, and _avenge_.”

The wind blows through Steve’s hair, cool and gentle. The sun climbs higher in the sky.

Beside her, Tony winces in pain. Steve and Bruce both surge forward, but Steve is the one that catches Tony just before he falls.

“I’ll be fine,” Tony says without emotion, though he’s breathing heavily and Steve can feel the heat emanating from his skin.

Nebula turns to Steve. “He was wounded by Thanos,” she says. “He needs medical attention. And I need to see what’s left of the Guardians.”

“Steve and Bruce will take him,” Natasha says. “I’ll take you to Rocket.”

Nebula’s eyes flash with something unreadable. “Take me.”

Bruce helps Steve hold up Tony’s weight, though he doesn’t need it, as they make their way back to Birnin Zana. He hopes that they’ll have enough spare medical professionals to help him. If not – Steve can stitch a wound in under five minutes.

 _You’re not going to die here_ , Steve thinks. _Not after the battle has ended._

(“Steve?”)

When Steve had picked up his phone, saw Tony’s name flash up on the screen, he couldn’t help but be relieved, and then terrified.

When Bruce had spoken instead, only the terror remained.

 _I missed you_ , Steve thinks, staring at the way Tony’s eyes flicker across the landscape. _I thought you were dead._

Steve hefts Tony up in his arms, ignoring Bruce's exclamations, and starts running.

The sun climbs higher up in the sky above them. Steve tries not to think about the deep, endless space beyond that. Somewhere there is Thanos. Somewhere there is where Tony had left parts of himself, first after New York, second only a few days before.

Under him, the grass is soft and the soil is warm.

**Author's Note:**

> someone tell these people it’s okay to feel emotions!!  
> there's a sort-of sequel to this: [From the heart that bleeds](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15165341)  
> 


End file.
